A YOUNG Scots mother has died from a form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, her boyfriend claimed last night.
Ms Janice Stuart is believed to be the thirteenth person in the UK to have contracted the new variant form of the disease (NVCJD).
Ms Stuart, 34, died at the Hunters Hill Marie Curie Home hospice on Friday morning, 11 months after she contracted the brain-wasting illness.
Her boyfriend wants the Government to release details of research into possible links between CJD, beef consumption, and BSE which affects cows.
Mr Charles Lennon, 50, said: ``Janice ate beef and beef products and I am sure this is how she got this illness.
``The Government must come clean and stop this terrible disease killing more people.''
A post-mortem examination will be completed on Ms Stuart within the next few days.
Doctors will be looking for flower-shaped ``plaques'' of proteins in the outer layer of the brain - the key common element in patients suffering NVCJD.
US doctors are analysing spinal fluid taken from Ms Stuart in a lumbar puncture test while she was alive. The test is regarded as the most reliable pre-death test for NVCJD.
However, Mr Lennon said doctors at Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, had told him last month they had no doubt Ms Stuart was dying from CJD.
Ms Stuart lived with her children, John, 7, and Gemma, 9, in Mount Pleasant Road, Milton of Campsie, Glasgow, until she became too ill to care for herself.
Mr Lennon said: ``It has been heart-breaking to watch.
``Janice was a lovely, bubbly, caring girl, and we had some wonderful times together.
``I first noticed a change in Janice in October last year. She became irritable, on edge, not like herself at all.
``She went to the doctor, who put her on anti-depressants - she had just moved into a new house and we thought perhaps it was the anxiety of that which was getting to her.
``She knew something was wrong and she was very distressed.''
Patients suffering NVCJD commonly get psychiatric problems and depression.
Dr Martin Zeidler, research registrar at the Edinburgh-based CJD Surveillance Unit, has refused, for confidentiality reasons, to comment on Ms Stuart's case.
Mr Lennon said: ``This whole thing is a cover-up by the Government but I am going to fight it in every way I can.
``We want answers to why this is happening and what the Government is going to do about it.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article